Dr. Ravi Kiran Appointed Chief of Colorectal Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center

NEW YORK(Jun 4, 2013)

Dr. Ravi P. Kiran has been named chief and program director of the Division of Colorectal Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, effective June 1, 2013. Dr. Kiran, a renowned surgeon-scientist with expertise in inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer, and other complicated colorectal conditions, joins NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia from the Cleveland Clinic, where he was staff surgeon and head of the research section in the Department of Colorectal Surgery and director of its Rupert B. Turnbull Jr. School of Enterostomal Therapy.

Dr. Kiran brings a wealth of experience in laparoscopic and open colorectal surgery, anorectal procedures, and reoperative abdominal and pelvic surgery. He is one of only a few highly skilled surgeons nationwide to perform continent ileostomy reservoir procedures and other complex operations to avoid a permanent ostomy after rectal or colon resection. "Access to these options is invaluable to patients who may have had complications after prior surgeries, extensive cancers, fistulas, and other challenging conditions," said Dr. Craig Smith, chair of the Department of Surgery and the Valentine Mott Professor of Surgery and Johnson and Johnson Distinguished Professor at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and surgeon-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia. "We are pleased that our program now offers these advanced options to patients in the New York metropolitan area and beyond."

As a researcher, Dr. Kiran has specific interests in surgical outcomes and quality and in evidence-based strategies for inflammatory bowel disease and other conditions. With a joint appointment at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health, Dr. Kiran will facilitate research collaborations in epidemiology between the Department of Surgery and the Mailman School.

Dr. Kiran received his medical degree from and completed surgical training at Osmania Medical College in Hyderabad, India, and received advanced training in colorectal surgery in the United Kingdom. He completed his general surgery residency at Yale-Saint Mary's Hospital and Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center and fellowship training in colorectal surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. He is board certified in surgery and in colon and rectal surgery from the American College of Surgeons (FACS) and the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (FASCRS) and is a fellow of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of England and Glasgow.

The author of more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Kiran is also an editor and reviewer for numerous prominent journals and textbooks. As a student and physician, he has earned several distinctions, including the National Merit Scholarship and Gold Medals during his medical education and surgical training in India, Resident Researcher of the Year during surgical residency, Teacher of the Year in Colorectal Surgery at Cleveland Clinic in 2011, and the ASCRS Travelling Fellow Award in 2012, and was voted to the list of Best Doctors in Cleveland.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, based in New York City, is the nation's largest not-for-profit, non-sectarian hospital, with 2,409 beds. The Hospital has nearly 2 million inpatient and outpatient visits in a year, including 12,758 deliveries and 215,946 visits to its emergency departments. NewYork-Presbyterian's 6,144 affiliated physicians and 20,154 staff provide state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine at five major centers: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian/The Allen Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division. One of the most comprehensive health care institutions in the world, the Hospital is committed to excellence in patient care, research, education and community service. NewYork-Presbyterian is the #1 hospital in the New York metropolitan area and is consistently ranked among the best academic medical institutions in the nation, according to U.S.News & World Report. The Hospital has academic affiliations with two of the nation's leading medical colleges: Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Columbia University Medical Center

Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, preclinical, and clinical research; medical and health sciences education; and patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Columbia University Medical Center is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York City and State and one of the largest faculty medical practices in the Northeast. For more information, visit cumc.columbia.edu or columbiadoctors.org